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Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central vs Microsoft Dynamics CRM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
ERP (3rd), Activity Based Costing Software (2nd)
Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
CRM Customer Engagement Centers (1st), CRM (2nd), Local Government CRM (1st), Marketing Management (2nd), Sales Force Automation (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Microsoft Dynamics CRM aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is designed for ERP and holds a mindshare of 6.4%, down 6.9% compared to last year.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM, on the other hand, focuses on CRM Customer Engagement Centers, holds 25.8% mindshare, up 24.8% since last year.
ERP
CRM Customer Engagement Centers
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user514128 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 15, 2017
 

Featured Reviews

StefaanVandesompele - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides end-to-end accounting and finance module at reasonable pricing
365 Business Central integrates with Office 365 to streamline the invoice approval process. This allows businesses to manage and approve invoices efficiently within a unified system. Our organization plans to transition to the Dynamics 365 environment, where various functions will be centralized. We will consolidate everything into one system instead of maintaining multiple databases for each country with local data. Dynamics 365 is fully integrated, which should address many of our challenges when we migrate to this new environment. We look forward to seeing how it performs in practice. The project is progressing well overall, though integrating it with other tools and ensuring Dynamics 365 operates smoothly can be challenging. Dynamics 365 is user-friendly and effective. However, a deeper understanding of its technical capabilities and architecture might be necessary to optimize its use fully. The software landscape is evolving, and achieving the best reporting and functionality with just a click can be complex. A clear vision of what you want to achieve with Dynamics 365 is essential. Proper preparation and configuration are crucial to achieving the desired outcomes. This principle applies not only to Dynamics 365 but to all software packages. Understanding the system's flexibility and adaptability based on your specific business needs is key to its successful implementation. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Arun Srivastav - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use and integrates well with emails, WhatsApp, and SMS gateways
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the campaign feature. The solution's campaign feature allows you to collate a group of customers and the frequency of email notifications sent to them. You can put an advertising budget for a series of customers, whereby high net-worth individuals will be marketed for high-end products. Low-end customers will be in a different campaign. So, we run campaigns on different sectors of customers. One of the solution's good features is integration because it directly integrates with Microsoft tools. Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Teams are built into it. The solution gives a varied network of text and email gateways, which are already integrated and come with the package.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I have found the flexibility to be very valuable. It's highly flexible, and at least for us, it has been effective. It is also highly functional."
"Our data is much more manageable than before."
"The vertical covers all aspects of functionality and integrates easily with the existing Office products."
"The initial setup is easy."
"Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is extremely stable as it does not rely on our in-house servers."
"It is a scalable solution. There are more than 5,000 end users in my organization."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV's most valuable feature is the integration with other Microsoft solutions."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV is good for smaller-sized companies."
"The solution is scalable."
"Right now we're using the financial features, and we haven't tried the inventory. It's useful more on the financial side."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the flexibility with Microsoft Office 365."
"I like that Microsoft Dynamics CRM works, and it's been okay. I like that it is a stable solution. My main reason for using it is that it is stable and meets our requirements from a functionality point of view."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Dynamics CRM has to be its interface...Microsoft Dynamics CRM has a user-friendly platform."
"The history of engagement with our customers, including all conversations, has been most valuable when using this solution."
"The most valuable feature in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is funneling."
"The most valuable feature is that it's easy to use and can work with any Microsoft solution without problems."
 

Cons

"The product should improve work optimization."
"I would like to improve the tool’s reporting and coding part."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV will be replaced with Office 365 in the future."
"Some of the control aspects such as auditing can definitely be improved. For example, auditing is not very easy, and the user permissions are complicated."
"I am hoping there is more integration with other platforms, more features, and customization in the next release."
"The stability could always be improved."
"I think Microsoft should improve on the process of how the user decides on a business workflow. For example, there may be some kind of drag-and-drop interface that lets us decide for ourselves how to develop the business workflows that fit our purpose."
"I would like to have more frequent updates."
"Dynamics could perform a little better, and it would be nice to save the filters I use frequently, so I don't need to do the same thing every day."
"Sometimes Microsoft's support can be difficult to contact, and it can take a while to get a response to a ticket."
"I am happy with it. If anything, its interface could be improved."
"This is a good tool, but if you don't have experience using a CRM solution, there are a lot of things you'll need to learn. This tool needs to be more user-friendly."
"My company's biggest challenge with Microsoft Dynamics CRM is wanting to market solely to leads without having to create a contact and link the contact to the lead. From a marketing standpoint, there's room for improvement in the lead process of Microsoft Dynamics CRM."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM could improve by being more user-friendly and having a better design. I have used Service Desk and it is not user-friendly but this solution is worse. The graphical interface is not intuitive, you need someone to guide you or you will have difficulties navigating around to find the file you need. The data we are normally dealing with is boring enough and the interface could be more attractive and more exciting. The tabs and arrangement could be done better to be more user-friendly. Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word are fine and Microsoft should extend their user-friendliness and intuitiveness to Microsoft Dynamics."
"The performance could be improved."
"The solution could improve by having better integration documentation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is a little bit expensive."
"I give the solution a seven out of ten for pricing."
"Its licensing is yearly. In addition to the licensing cost, there is the cost of hosting on Azure."
"We have a perpetual license to use Microsoft Dynamics NAV."
"The tool’s licensing is yearly. The solution is cheaper compared to other ERP products from Oracle or SAP."
"Currently, the product offers a starting price of $70 per user per month, which provides access to the complete ERP engine. It is highly reasonable."
"The first time we tried to buy the newest version, it was expensive."
"The price of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central could improve. It is costly. We are paying for the solution on a monthly basis."
"The solution is open source and is free. However, it does require a Dynamics 365 subscription."
"We have a three-year ELA with all our Microsoft solutions and often we had to do a true-up which was approximately $1,000,000. Additionally, we pay approximately $2,500 a month for support."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM is slightly cheaper than Salesforce today. Pricing for the solution is pretty aggressive in the market."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM is very affordable if you use the yearly subscription."
"It's kind of pricey. It's about $50 or $60 per user."
"The solution is expensive."
"The cost varies on multiple factors including customization and the number of users."
"Microsoft Dynamics CRM's price is too high."
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Answers from the Community

it_user514128 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 16, 2017
Mar 16, 2017
Dynamic CRM is “workflow” and base on email integration. CRP in Default Micrososoft Dynamic Nav only simple CRP Please see the comment below in web Key factor is where data is held The key factor in determining whether to deploy Dynamics NAV or Dynamics CRM to meet your needs will depend on where the data is held that your CRM processes need to access. If your marketing is based o...
2 out of 10 answers
it_user392145 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 14, 2017
Looking into Dynamics CRM is advisable. CRM as part of Dynamics NAV is limited, can be fine for B2B companies having little CRM requirements. For B2C Dynamics NAV CRM will often be to limited. Integration with social media is not available in CRM of Dynamics NAV. In CRM standard NAV you will find: segmentation, campagnes, tasks, interactions / contact moments, opportunities. But limited functionallity to create workflows within your sales proces (like follow up).
Mar 14, 2017
Hi,  there are certainly limitations with NAV CRM in comparison to Dynamics CRM. To understand whether your specific business requirements needs the additional features or not would require more information. In essence Dynamics CRM is about relationship management and has superb functionality for sales, marketing and customer service. NAV CRM is more an internal focussed operational tool. From the information below, I would be more concerned that you are bespoking your system to the extent indicated. This is not a recommended solution.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The platform offers a robust and comprehensive cycle for supply chain and inventory management, with features like minimum and maximum settings, dynamic monitoring of inventory levels, and integrat...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
Implementing localizations when we use the system for multiple countries can be quite complex. There isn't a single solution available for all countries, and managing these localizations can be cha...
What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
The most valuable features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM are all the filters and possible reports.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
The UI/UX needs improvement as it is not intuitive from day one. It becomes intuitive once learned, however, it should be less complex initially.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Dynamics CRM?
The use cases are for HR management, resource management, project insight, and timesheet management. It is mostly connected with people and resource management.
 

Also Known As

Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
Dynamics CRM, MS Dynamics CRM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Harris Farm Markets, Mister Spex GmbH, Bounce Foods, Eurofin Services SA, Medica Medizintechnik, Associated Gaskets, Onduline, Sitka Surfboard Corporation, World Animal Protection
Metro Bank, Nissan, Pandora, Delta, Haynes International, City of London, Trek and many more market leaders.
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